Cabin Fever
by PengYn
Summary: How is it that two people, neither of whom are really good at letting people in, can accept the fact that they have feelings for one another? And how do you get them to give in, when neither of them believe they are worthy of those feelings? DaysofDharma.
1. Rainy Days And Mondays

_**A/N: So... it's been a while.**_

_**When I first hit on the idea for a new fanfic, I was like "Yes, this is what I shall name you!" But then I remembered that I'd been making all of my fic and chapter titles relate to songs from the '70s. "Crap." I thought. Then I decided to do a search and I said to myself if this title turns out to be an actual song released sometime before 1977 then you HAVE to write this fic. And look what google told me: Cabin Fever is a 1977 hit by Barbara Streisand. I was all "omgwtfpolarbear!"**_

_**Really though this fic has far more affiliation with the version by the Muppets. As usual, this fic can be read in conjunction with its predecessors. Like my own mini-canon lol.**_

_**How is it that two people, neither of whom are really good at letting people in, can accept the fact that they have feelings for one another. And how do you get them to give in to, when neither of them believe they are worthy of those feelings?**_

_**This story takes place in the last week of March, 1975.**_

**Chapter One – Rainy Days And Mondays**

_Monday. _

_8.15pm_

Something was bothering him. She didn't know what it was she just knew that if James were a cartoon character, he'd be accompanied by a dark cloud and three perfectly symmetrical lightning bolts hovering above his shoulders. He was quieter too and she could almost picture him biting his tongue to prevent himself from saying something that could put him on toilet cleaning duty for a month. She wished he'd just come out with it, instead of pretending to be okay for her sake. She knew something was up. He knew that she knew that something was up, and she knew that he knew that she knew that something was up. So why was he pretending? Why the permanent scowl? She much preferred the dimples to the scowl.

"Mm dimples." Juliet murmured into her salad.

"What was that?" Sawyer looked up from the half chicken he'd decimated.

Juliet looked at her cucumber for inspiration and reprimanded herself for the two glasses of wine she'd drunk.

She coughed. "Dim sum. I miss Dim sum." _Check hormone, Juliet._

Sawyer stared at her for a minute before his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He scowled at his plate at the thought of why he hadn't eaten, and Juliet wondered what the poor chicken had ever done in life to deserve being this mistreated in death. She didn't pry and she kept the conversation light.

As with many of their evenings, she was content to curl up on the other side of the sofa and bury her nose in a book, and like those many evenings he joined her. She knew, this evening, that he was only pretending to read. Every now and then she'd peek over the edge of _The Odd Woman_ and find him staring out into space. She was ready to bet him a weeks worth of soap that he'd fail to inspire her to put _The Mothman Prophecies_ on her reading list.

Eventually, whatever was bothering him must have been filed away because he'd somehow conquered a quarter of the novel and she was in serious danger of being caught up. Determined to keep their reading score even she spent the next half hour concentrating entirely on turning her page before he turned his. _God help me if there's a quiz after!_

Leg cramp eventually got the better of her and she stretched out, accidentally poking one of his thighs with her feet.

"Sorry." She murmured.

He smiled and patted a foot, not taking his eyes off his page. She glanced down at his hand, bemused. He wasn't looking at her, but she could still see a smirk tugging at his lips. _Damn him_. He knew she was trying to out-read him.

She watched him as he realized, suddenly, that the action of rubbing her foot was a borderline no-fly zone and he'd been doing it too long to just stop without any kind of embarrassing consequence. He tried clearing his throat. He swallowed, overcompensated on his breathing and had to hack out a cough instead. He dropped the book on her foot and started patting it all over again.

Juliet burst out laughing which caught him by surprise. She had such an infectious laugh that he wondered why she didn't do it more often. She could rule the world with that laugh.

"Sorry." He murmured.

"It's all right." She replied, grinning into her book and not daring to catch his eye. She refocused her attention on the story and it was only fifteen minutes later that she realized his hand was still resting on her foot.

***

He watched her shuffle off to bed sometime later, casually checking what page number she'd bookmarked and finally laughing at the book's title. He'd wanted to do that all damn evening. _When did I become so goddamn domestic?_

She'd whispered a breathy goodnight and headed down the hallway towards her bedroom, and his head could all but help swivel 'round to follow her. If he was an honest man, and he knew by this point she would have thrown a word like "oxymoron" at him, he was vaguely confused by the ease at which she'd let him touch her. He was also silently impressed that she hadn't made a big deal out of it either. Once again he found himself marveling at how she expected nothing from him, and _asked_ for nothing more than his companionship.

He swallowed the remnants of a warm Dharma beer and sighed.

"Things are gettin' complicated." He told the aluminum can.

Truth was Sawyer wasn't sure if he was talking about Horus complicating the hell out of his day, or Juliet who was complicating all different parts of his anatomy. He closed his book and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose, knocking his reading glasses askew. _God, if I could please just start this day over I'd be very much obliged. _He leant his head back against the sofa._ 'cept for this mornin'. You can leave that part in, thanks. _

He doubted God would be that generous, or specific. In the end Sawyer had to decide whether the beginning was worth the shit that became the rest of the day.

In the end he called it a draw.

***


	2. The Masquerade

**A/N: Wow, thank you for the awesome 'welcome back's folks. I didn't realize I'd been missed! And since that makes me warm and mushy inside - onward!**

**Chapter Two –**** The Masquerade**

_Monday_

_8:15am_

"Incoming!" Sawyer yelled, barging through the bathroom door like a man on a mission.

Juliet opened the shower door a crack and stuck her head out, steam pouring out around her. "Do you _mind_?"

"Blondie, I spent eight weeks babysittin' you and your damn broken foot. There's barely a piece of you I don't know yet, and I gotta get to work."

"Well _maybe_ if you hadn't been up half the night trying to cheat Jin out of his poker winnings you wouldn't be so late now would you?" she smirked.

"Hey, that was a legitimate play! I was just tryin' to get back what that sonofabitch stole! He had a two and a four! _That's_ cheatin'."

"_That's_ bluffing. Weren't you a con artist?"

"Cute." He grabbed his toothbrush from its holder. "By the way, you're lettin' out all your steam."

Juliet glanced down, then back at him and slammed the door shut. Sawyer grinned. Steam or no steam he knew a blush when he saw one. He turned around to brush his teeth, his mind lingering on the glimpse of wet shoulder and the curve of her bare thigh. He heard the door slide open again and felt the wet sponge projectile that was launched at his back. The door slid shut again.

"_That's_ for calling me Blondie."

***

Sawyer was trying to shovel cereal down his throat by the time Juliet came into the kitchen. She handed him a banana wordlessly, and went about finding her own breakfast.

"I don't have time," he mumbled.

"It's a banana. It's food for the multi-tasker. Monkeys can eat them whilst combing the nits out of each others hair."

"'Scuse me?" he coughed.

"I'm sure you can do better than a monkey?" she deadpanned.

Sawyer waved the banana at her. "Well I don't know sweetheart, do _grease_ monkeys count? 'Cause I'm shacked up with one of those and _she_ seems to think she's hilarious."

Juliet raised a brow. "Fine. Don't eat the banana. Drop dead at eleven see if I care."

Sawyer grinned, pocketing the banana. Juliet bit into an apple, the juice of which escaped down her chin and broke her cool exterior. Sawyer didn't care, he was too busy staring at the moisture on her chin and imagining several different ways to remove it. He blinked. _Get a grip you moron 'cause she ain't goin' there with you!_

He yanked the refrigerator door open, pulled out a carton of orange juice and held it up to his lips.

"Uh! Use a glass!" Juliet cried.

"Man you're bossy today," Sawyer growled.

She laughed softly and handed him a glass. "I just want you to practice safe drinking," she teased.

"Darlin' it's the 70's, they don't practice safe _anythin'_."

She was staring at him with the most peculiar expression on her face and he was silently wondering if he'd crossed some sort of line. Her cheeks were pinker than usual and he was trying his damndest to come up with all the reasons why this was a good thing, that he wasn't about to find himself flat on his back with no memory of an ass-kicking. The mental image of lying on his back with Juliet hovering above him sent a wave of heat from his head straight down to his groin. He shook himself back to reality.

"You okay?" Juliet asked.

"Yeah I… just… gotta go."

Juliet nodded slowly. "Okay."

Sawyer zipped up his Dharma issue khaki jumpsuit and headed for the front door. Juliet leaned on the wall watching him go.

"Oh. I arranged for Phil to come pick you up and take you to the Motor Pool this mornin'," he said, turning back to face her.

"Why?"

"'Cause of all the rain."

She frowned in confusion.

"I'm just takin' precautions," he replied.

"It's only rain, James."

"Yeah, and the last time I let you out in a storm look what happened."

She smiled. "So you're never going to let me out in a storm again?"

"No," he replied.

"But it's only raining."

"No."

***


	3. Lowdown

**A/N: The next two chapters I call my 'blah blah exposition' chapters. No joke. That's how I had them labelled originally. I promise they're important and necessary to the story, plus I've alway wondered how this bit of LOST-lore went down. So anyway, let's go see why the rest of Sawyer's really awful day was... well... really awful.**

**Chapter Three**** – Lowdown**

_Monday__._

_9am_

"Morning, Boss."

"Mornin' Miles."

"You seem fairly upbeat for a guy who just lost a month's personal allowance," Miles observed.

Sawyer narrowed his eyes. "Don't _you_ start."

Miles shook his head grinning and started pouring them both a cup of coffee. "I take it you already got a lecture from Juliet?"

"Som'in like that," Sawyer replied. "Where the hell is everybody?"

"Most have called in sick and who the hell knows where everybody else is," Miles told him, handing him a steaming mug. "Jerry _thinks_ he's getting mono. You wanna know what I think? I think they're all avoiding going out in this rain. I thought this was supposed to be on a tropical island man."

Sawyer ran a hand through his rain soaked hair and glanced outside. The heavens had opened up two days before and it hadn't let up since. He could still feel yesterday's moisture trapped at the bottom of his boots. Sawyer scowled.

"Get that hell's-angel moustache on the phone. Tell him if he ain't down here in _four_ minutes he's getting' his wages docked. For a _week_. Tell him I'm timin'." He sipped at his coffee and sat down at his desk. As he flipped through the day's manifest he watched Miles delivering Jerry his wakeup call out of the corner of one eye. The man looked like Christmas had come early.

The door opened and Jin strolled in looking a couple hundred dollars richer.

"Good morning."

Sawyer noticed he had the grace to appear bashful. "Don't you mornin' me you cheater. Looks like crouchin' tiger has more than one hidden dragon."

Jin didn't appear overly concerned by Sawyer's rebuke. Over the past ten months he'd become used to spotting the difference between Sawyer's sarcasm and genuine anger.

"I'm gonna figure out how you did it," Sawyer said, pointing a pen in Jin's direction.

Jin grinned. "You… try," he replied stiltedly, "but you no succeed. I no cheat. Beside, even if I do, I learn cheat… from _you_."

"Wiseass," Sawyer growled. "I liked it better when you didn't speak English."

Jerry burst through the door, half-dressed and panting. Sawyer looked at his watch. "Three forty-seven. I think you just beat Phil's late time of three fifty-six. Gland's all healed up and workin'now?"

"Yes Sir, a miracle Sir."

"Yeah, yeah, call the Vatican. Grab your gear - you get to babysit the Tempest today."

Jerry looked crestfallen. As a chemical facility, security spent a _large_ amount of the day outside to avoid being exposed to the hazardous materials the Dharma scientists were working with. Clearly Jerry's punishment for trying to get away from the rain was to stay in it all day.

Miles was still smiling when Jerry trudged off outside.

"You're gettin' entirely too much pleasure outta this, Hoss." Sawyer smirked.

Miles raised his arms in the air. "I can't help myself man. Remember that chick, Molly? Y'know, New Year's Eve? Girl with the long legs and the polka-dots?"

Sawyer cast his mind back and found he was swimming in a memory of blonde hair and warm lips, of a tongue that tasted like merlot and skin that felt electric.

"La Fleur!?"

Sawyer snapped out of it. "Yeah rings a bell."

"Yeah well I caught Jerry putting the moves on her not long after, and turns out she's been seeing him too. Pssh. Chicks huh? They make you do all the work, but do you _ever_ reap the rewards? I mean, _ever_?"

Sawyer nodded, not really listening to a word Miles was saying. "Yeah."

There was a soft knock at the door and Horace walked in. Sawyer found it interesting that Horace always knocked. As leader of the Dharma Initiative, the man should be able to go wherever he wanted without the need for courtesies. But here he was, knocking politely and greeting everyone with a smile. Sawyer sure hadn't respected a whole lot of people in his life, but he found himself inexplicably fond of this man. Horace respected Sawyer's position and his work place, so in turn Sawyer respected him.

"Good morning Mister La Fleur. Jin, Miles."

"Mornin' Horace, what can I do you for?" Sawyer replied.

"Jim, I was wondering if I could have a word. I have some things I want to discuss about… some of the facilities." Horace told him.

Sawyer nodded. Reading between the lines he observed that this was probably more serious than routine security, and that alone got his back up. He nodded at Miles and Jin. "You two man the monitors today. Keep yourselves dry."

The two men grinned. There were definite perks to being friends with the Boss.

When they'd gone, Sawyer turned to Horace. "So H, somethin' tells me you're about to _complicate_ my day."

Horace looked almost sympathetic. "I need your help, Jim. But I also have to tell you that this is strictly 'need to know'. You can't tell anyone, not even your crew - your friends. I'm asking, because I know I can trust you. And I need to keep this… within that circle of trust.

***


	4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

**A/N: Thank you so much to for leaving feedback. I'm not a person who runs around asking people to review because I will always finish a story no matter what, but I absolutely thank those who've said they're enjoying it so far - it keeps me writing! Once again, thank you to everyone for reading.**

**Chapter Four – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road**

_Monday._

_10:55am_

Sawyer got out of the blue and white Dharma van and followed Horace to the entrance of the Orchid station. Doctor Chang and Radzinsky were waiting for them.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave your weapons out here, Jim." Horace told him.

"That don't really sit well with me, H." Sawyer replied, his suspicion shifting up a gear.

"I appreciate that. But recent… events have made it impossible to take them inside the facility."

Sawyer glanced at the two scientists. Chang looked pensive. Radzinsky was simply standing inside the elevator looking bored.

Horace motioned to one of the security lackeys guarding the station's perimeter. "Mister La Fleur and I are going inside the Orchid, will you please take care of his rifle and sidearm."

Sawyer handed over the guns reluctantly. The guard was soaked to the skin, but made no complaint and Sawyer wondered idly where the rest of his unit was. He stepped in the elevator along with Horace and Chang. Radzinsky hit the controls and lowered them down into the darkness below.

***

The light in the tunnels was yellow and dim, a ghostly glow paving the way towards some great and powerful condemnation. At least that's how Sawyer thought of it. Everyday he wanted to tell these people to leave well enough alone, that nothing good would come of this. But everyday he didn't because despite the threat of extinction, he had a damn good life here and he wasn't about to give that up without a fight.

They hadn't gone far before they hit a dead end, and Sawyer started looking around for the punch line. It was warm and sticky below ground and his rain-soaked jumpsuit clung to him like a second skin.

"As you know Mister La Fleur," Doctor Chang began. "This is a very recent site that we are exploring –"

"I'm aware," Sawyer interrupted. "That we ain't meant to be out here at all. So why'm I bein' taken on a tour of Efrafa?"

Horace nodded to Radzinsky. "Show him."

Radzinsky pulled back the tarp on what Sawyer had previously thought were construction materials. There were three bodies lying on the ground. One of them looked liked a construction crewman – it was difficult to tell given the condition of his torso. The other two were very clearly Dharma security.

Sawyer sighed. _Well I guess I know where the rest of the unit went._

***

"Think of the Island as… a hotbed for electromagnetic energy," Doctor Chang was explaining. "Beneath us is a force so powerful, so magnificent that it could control anything we want it to. We could manipulate energy. We could alter the fabric of time itself."

Sawyer raised an eyebrow.

"This energy is so powerful that it can not only confuse navigational equipment and electronics, but it would be enough to move even the greatest of objects. It could literally pull… airplanes out of the sky."

"Yeah. I'll bet," Sawyer rumbled. "So what happened to _them_?"

"One of the construction crew hit on a very small, _minor_ pocket of electromagnetism, the drill broke apart and a piece shot through his chest killing him instantly." Radzinsky drawled, still looking bored.

Sawyer glowered. With each passing day he liked the man less and less. "Wasn't so _minor_ to them."

"Apparently they heard the screaming and came down to investigate," Horace explained. "They had their rifles aimed and ready to fire. The energy tore the bullets from their chamber and it would seem that the force caused them to ricochet and…"

Sawyer nodded. _Shit_. "So what do you need _me_ for?"

"Our work here is very important Jim, you know that. And we have measures in place to ensure the safety of all members of the Dharma Initiative. But obviously… we are not perfect."

Radzinsky looked like he was about to interject, but Horace waved him down.

"I can't allow," Horace continued, "for morale to waver. Not because of one isolated incident. But I am man enough to admit that this might not remain so and if it happens again, I _will_ need help keeping it from the rest of our people. They don't need to know and telling them will cause great panic. Their safety is my concern, but the Orchid is miles away from the barracks, and I believe that that distance keeps them safe. Do you agree, Jim?"

_No_. Sawyer thought. "Yeah." He said aloud. "Yeah I do."

"Okay then. We'll arrange to have the bodies taken care of - we'll need to burn them. In the meantime we will cease operations on the Orchid until Doctor Chang and Doctor Radzinsky can certify its safety," Horace announced. He turned to Sawyer. "Thank you, Jim."

Sawyer nodded slowly and watched the three scientists prepare their shiny black body bags. He pressed a hand to his temple to fight away the headache that was starting to pulse. He felt claustrophobic. _I need a vacation, _he thought._ Away from this goddamn rain, away from my damn hormones and away from the Frankensteins._

There was just one _minor_ problem with his idea - the Island wasn't exactly your average vacation spot.

Sawyer huffed out a breath. _Sonofabitch_.

***


	5. Island Girl

**A/N: Thanks again for the encouragement. I love writing for Sawyer because you can pretty much get away with anything! There will be no new chapter tomorrow as it is Tuesday and therefore LOST day and I will need time to flail and pick up the pieces of my exploded brain so that I can glue it back together. I promise, as always, not to keep you waiting very long.**

**Chapter Five**** – Island Girl**

_Monday._

_3:__30pm_

It was like trying to break into some kind of fortress, like he was facing an impregnable vault with mechanical doors and supreme gadgets. All of its treasures sealed behind a twenty-two ton door and the precision of a Swiss watch. Sawyer watched her behind the relative safety of the van's steamed windows, casually reminding himself not to mention to Juliet that he had just compared her to Fort Knox.

Her hair was plastered to her face, but she was smiling, sharing a joke with some of her co-workers at the Motor Pool. She handled vehicle parts with ease, as if the pouring rain was more of an inconvenience than an actual hindrance. How anyone could still see to work was beyond him, although he suspected that the rooftop provided them at least some reprieve.

Sawyer got out of the van and signed it back in. He could see her more clearly now, she'd stopped what she was doing to speak to one of the guys who worked with her. Someone named Harry, he recalled. He watched as her back stiffened ever so slightly when Harry started speaking to her. Sawyer doubted she was aware that she was more relaxed around metal parts than human beings, probably because she thought metal couldn't hurt her. Yesterday he might've thought the same thing.

Sawyer knew someone putting the moves on when he saw it and Harry was definitely making the attempt. Juliet, as always, seemed surprised that someone would show any kind of interest in her at all. He watched the stiffness in her shoulders, which he'd come to learn was more her maintaining caution than frostiness, release as she laughed softly at something Harry had told her. And there it was, a twinge of annoyance in his gut that sent his fractious mood spiralling down toward bitterness. It wasn't her fault, he knew that and for once he'd do his best to keep his trap shut. He'd just had a god-awful day so far and what he really wanted was to talk to Juliet about it. He realized how stupid that was given that half the Motor Pool – and Horny Harry here – was confined to the undercover garage.

Juliet spotted him and waved him over.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey," he replied, watching the blood drain from Harry's face as he backed up about a mile. _Yep_, Sawyer thought, _There are _definite_ perks to bein' in charge_.

"Do you _have_ to scare everyone?" Juliet whispered conspiratorially.

"It's my _job_ to scare everyone," he rumbled.

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Sawyer glanced over at the rest of the grease-monkeys and shook his head. "Nothin'."

"James – "

"Nothin, okay? I'm just bringin' back your van."

Juliet nodded, impossibly blue eyes reading his lie. "Okay."

Sawyer hated himself. He hated that he couldn't tell her – the one person who was guaranteed to listen to him start to finish – that he needed someone to talk to. He hated that he'd spent the morning getting rid of dead bodies, and that Horace had dragged him into this. He hated the secrecy and the "need to know" crap, and he hated Radzinsky for resenting the need to stop working on the site temporarily. Sawyer always knew _he_ was an ass, but Radzinsky took the meaning to a whole new playing field.

Juliet touched his arm bringing him out of his misery. He wasn't sure if a person's grip could be both gentle _and_ firm, but he imagined this is what the dictionary definition said it would be like. It was her subtle reassurance that she was here if he needed her, and a wave of gratitude shot through him.

"Don't you go gettin' your grease-mittens on my uniform y'here?"

Juliet smirked. "Your uniform is beyond hope."

Sawyer looked down at his dishevelled state. He had to admit he'd seen better days. "Watch it sweetheart, I'm big and scary remember?"

Juliet backed up towards the spares she'd been working on, her palms raised, corners of her lips turned upward. "You don't scare me."

***


	6. Sideshow

**A/N: Okay. So Sawyer didn't have the most amazing Monday... except for that morning part which he was kind of keen on. Things can only get better, right? Right? And yes, I realize I'm a bit of a tease.**

**Chapter 6**** - Sideshow**

_Tuesday__. _

_3__:16am_

Juliet stumbled sleepily down the hallway. The rain had continued to fall through the night and she'd woken up desperate for the bathroom. Her consciousness was currently residing in sleep-walk mode, ensuring that once she was finished she could curl up under the covers and be back asleep in an instant.

She reached for the door handle and nearly had a heart attack when it was yanked from her grip as the door opened from the inside. She yelped in fright as the action startled her awake, tripped on one of Sawyer's exiting feet and grasped onto his arms for support. Sawyer was ripped from his own semi-comatose state and grabbed the nearest thing he could before he fell, sending them both crashing against the doorframe.

Juliet felt the shock travel up her spine before her eyes had fully focused. "Well now I'm awake," she mumbled.

"Ouch," Sawyer groaned.

"This is why I used to live alone," she told herself.

"What? You don't like jumpin' outta your skin in the dead of night?" he quipped.

Juliet smiled sleepily. She was still clutching his shoulders and trying to slow her heartbeat.

He smiled down at her. "All part of bein' roommates, right?"

She laughed a little, "Right."

Sawyer's breathing had evened and with a clarity that comes with suddenly being wide awake, he realized that what he had grabbed onto to stop himself from crashing to the floor were Juliet's thighs. His breathing hitched again as he tried desperately not to draw attention to this fact. She was wearing thin cotton shorts, like many of the Dharma Initiative did, to help cope with the intense heat on the Island. He was also doing his best not to make any more sudden movements, but he was having trouble taking in anything more than the feel of her skin under his palms.

Juliet seemed to realize this and was looking down at his hands, perplexed. She too seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of having him move them.

Sawyer stared at the top of her head and finally let out a breath. "So… still rainin' huh?"

Juliet brought her eyes up to meet his. "I don't think it's ever going to stop."

Sawyer nodded and cursed his usually smart mouth for its sudden lack of inspiration. He looked at her for help.

"I –"she started.

He raised his eyebrows.

"I really need to pee," she finished.

He let go of her and backed off slightly. "I'll – um – let you get on with it then."

She smiled again. "Thanks. Goodnight."

"Night," he replied.

She shut the door behind her, leaned against it and closed her eyes.

"Hey!" she heard him call. "Look's like I _can_ scare ya after all."

She grinned and shook her head. _That's not the only thing he can do to me, _she thought.

***


	7. Laughter In The Rain

**A/N: So it seems I've had permission from several of you to continue being a cliffhanger tease. I also seem to have promised to make up for the shortness that was "Sideshow". And some of you love fluff so much that it seems this chapter was born and bred for you - do you have ANY idea how difficult it is to make two unfluffy characters, fluffy?**

**Chapter Seven – Laughter In The Rain**

_Wednesday. _

_10:40am_

Almost everybody except security had been quarantined since 11 A.M the day before. School had been cancelled, labs had shut down, and the Motor Pool had been abandoned due to flooding. The rain's intensity had magnified and visibility was almost zero. Juliet had spent most of the day finishing off her book – much to her roommate's annoyance. She was happy enough to have the day off, although she felt awful for James who had come home that evening completely irritated and drenched to the bone. He'd gone to bed early – Juliet could hear the bedsprings bounce as he collapsed. Whatever was going on, she knew it wasn't good.

***

Sawyer walked through the door while Juliet was re-organizing the kitchen cupboards. He frowned in amusement when he saw she had alphabetized the cereal boxes.

She caught him looking and shrugged. "I'd color coordinate them too, but they're all white."

He broke into a smile so wide that Juliet's heart leapt up into her throat. She wished he'd stop making that happen.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bored are ya?" he asked.

"Twelve," she admitted. "What brings you home?"

"Horace has decided that anyone or any_thing_ insane enough to attack in this weather couldn't possibly be successful. It's a goddamn monsoon," he replied.

"Go take a shower and warm up. And give me your uniform - it looks like someone tried to drown you in it."

Sawyer didn't need to be told twice and he headed off toward the bathroom. "Hey!" he called.

"What?" Juliet replied.

"Horace says he's deliverin' everyone board games. Somethin' to help relieve the boredom."

"You mean the games from the rec-center?"

"Yeah!" she heard him call from the bathroom.

"Are there enough to go around?"

"Guess we'll find out soon enough!"

***

_12:23pm_

When Horace knocked almost two hours later, Sawyer practically leapt off his armchair. Juliet had re-arranged all the furniture and then put it all back again. _He'd_ accused her of sabotaging his reading time. _She_ had stuck her tongue out at him and begun screwing light bulbs off, checking them, and then screwing them back on again. Her boredom was going to drive him insane, so he was nothing more than grateful to pull open the door and find a soaking wet Horace standing on his porch.

"Jim."

"Horace."

Juliet watched them from her perch on the coffee table where she was now organizing the potpourri by shape and color. To anyone else, James would appear cavalier - relaxed even - but Juliet knew him better than most people. The root of James' problem, she decided, definitely lay with Horace.

"I apologize for the lack of selection, but I had many stops to make," Horace said, bowing his head a little.

Juliet caught a flash of white as Horace handed him a square box.

"So, what did we get?" she asked.

Sawyer closed the door and turned the front of the box toward her, "Twister."

***

_2:20 pm_

Jin and Miles came bursting through their front door.

"Shoes!" Juliet cried.

"What?" Miles asked, shaking the rain from his hair.

"I've mopped the floors, so keep your shoes by the door please."

Miles looked at Sawyer who shrugged.

"Do as the lady says."

The two men complied and Jin threw two decks of cards onto the table.

"Got the short straw huh?" Sawyer observed.

"Horace came 'round and all he had left was one deck of cards. The other is from Sunday's poker game," Miles related.

"What _you_ get?" Jin asked, looking at the white box and colored circles with curiosity.

Miles grabbed at the box before Jin could touch it. "Twister! Ha, ha! Awesome!"

Sawyer, Juliet, and Jin stared at him.

"Come on guys, this is a classic! It's the game that ties you up in knots!"

Juliet looked amused.

"Who's with me?" Miles asked them. He cocked his head at Juliet. "It'll pass the time."

Jin nodded. "I play."

Miles looked at Sawyer expectantly.

"I ain't playin' Twister," he told him.

"Come on La Fleur!" Miles cried.

Sawyer glowered.

Juliet stood up. "I'll play." She glanced over at Sawyer with wide blue eyes and a playful smile on her lips.

Sawyer lowered his eyes at her. "Fine. Lemme show you girls what it's like to have your asses kicked."

***

_3:45 pm_

Juliet was the first to cave. She was on one knee, while her other leg stretched out behind her and passed underneath Jin's torso. Jin was on all fours with one of his hands currently trapped beneath Mile's ankle. Miles was doing a very good impression of the splits, one hand secured on a yellow dot in front of him, his other arm extended sideways for balance, and his butt extended out towards all of them. One of Sawyer's arms was poised just to the side of Juliet's left shoulder, and because Juliet's own arms were occupying circles behind her, it meant that his other arm was placed between her legs and his torso was leaning over hers.

Jin shifted position suddenly and Juliet had to raise her head to compensate. Then the giggles started. By raising her head she was now looking directly at Sawyer's crotch. She was so close that if anyone dared move again her nose would touch his belt buckle. Juliet's entire body shook with convulsive laughter.

Sawyer glared at her. "Can it, Blondie."

The desperate expression on Sawyer's face only made her worse. "I'm… s… sorry," she managed.

Jin was laughing now too, tears pouring down his face at the sight of Miles rear end shaking as the tendons in his knees started to give way. Miles was hissing instructions to his body parts like they were his own personal army and cursing Jin for distracting him.

Sawyer watched the moisture well up in Juliet's eyes as her laughter built, and _dammit to hell_ why was it so infectious?! Sawyer grinned and before long he was shaking along with her.

The four of them crashed to the floor - Miles falling sideways onto one of Jin's arms with Jin crying in protest, and Sawyer falling forward onto Juliet. They were all laughing hysterically. Miles and Jin were having such a hard time pulling it together that the more they tried to help each other up, the more they ended up rolling around on the floor.

Juliet was grateful that they were both distracted. Being nose to nose with Sawyer had sobered her, and her insides were suddenly waging war on her brain. A part of her noted that Sawyer had stopped laughing too. He was staring straight into her eyes and she knew that he was waiting for her permission, that he wouldn't make a move without it. She felt like she was on fire, terrifying and electric all at the same time. Her lips were millimeters from his and she knew if she did this that there was no going back, there was no ignoring it a second time. Her bottom lip trembled as the warmth of his breath passed over her. She couldn't blink. She couldn't move. Her entire world suddenly consisted of this one man who had somehow given her life some kind of meaning again and _oh-my-god_ against her better judgment, she wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her right now.

Somewhere to her right, Miles coughed.

"You two – err – need some help?"

Juliet and Sawyer turned their heads slowly toward him. Both Miles and Jin were grinning mischievously.

"No," Sawyer replied slowly, "I got it."

He backed off of Juliet and helped her to her feet. She began clearing up the living room without catching anybody's eye.

"Beer?" Sawyer suggested.

"Yeah," Miles replied.

The three men headed to the kitchen, leaving Juliet to fold up the _Twister_ mat. She sat down on the sofa, closed her eyes and sighed. She'd take her time clearing up, she decided, that way she wouldn't have to go in there and face him just yet. But then what? They couldn't even go to the bathroom without crashing into each other. How was she meant to avoid him indefinitely?

***


	8. Right Back Where We Started From

**A/N: You're all fabulous. Thank you so much for the positive encouragement you've been sending. I confess, I love to tease! And really... I should just start naming all my chapters 'everybody hates Miles'. Onward!**

**Chapter Eight – Right Back Where We Started From**

_Wednesday_

_5:30pm_

Juliet took an hour long bath – a significant portion of which was spent sitting on the side of the bathtub holding her head between her hands. When she came back through she found the guys sitting at the dinner table playing cards and sipping beers. They looked up as she entered. Sawyer met her gaze and she managed a weak smile she was sure he wouldn't be fooled by.

"Dinner?" she offered.

"I love you Jules," Miles said, pointing his beer at her.

Juliet rolled her eyes as she headed into the kitchen. "Don't get all worked up, it'll probably just be spaghetti."

"Does that come with meatballs?" Miles called.

"What am I, a slave?" she hollered back.

"Slave. Housewife. Same thing really."

Juliet stuck her head around the corner and aimed an apple at his head. Miles caught it effortlessly, and Juliet used the opportunity to saunter up behind him and retrieve it. She smiled sweetly and Miles handed it over, turning back to their game. From behind him Juliet indicated to both Sawyer and Jin the exact compilation of the hand he held. She moved back towards the kitchen watching Miles place a hefty wager and caught Sawyer's eye. He winked his thanks and Juliet felt the heat rising in her cheeks once more. She ducked back into the kitchen, hoping he hadn't seen her blush.

***

_6__:00pm_

Dinner was an informal affair. Juliet dumped four plates and a huge bowl of spaghetti meat balls in the middle of the table, and sat down in the vacant seat next to Miles.

"Dig in," she said.

"You're a _terrible_ wife," Miles told her, leaping out of his chair to be first to the food.

Juliet whacked him on the arm.

"Save some for the rest of us lickety-splits," Sawyer told him.

Juliet snorted into her water glass. She motioned for Jin and Sawyer to help themselves.

Miles shoved a forkful into his mouth and groaned. "I take it back, you're a _wonderful_ wife," he said.

Juliet grinned and dished up her own plate.

"So, _Twister_ was a draw right?" Miles continued between mouthfuls.

"We all fall… so no one has won. Yes?" Jin replied.

"Well since _I_ was the _last_ to fall, technically _I_ won," Sawyer told them.

Juliet swallowed, "I'm with Jin."

"Only, because you were the first to go," Miles quipped.

Juliet exchanged a glance with Sawyer. He was smiling, but she could tell his mind had travelled back in time.

After they'd eaten, they all helped Juliet with the mess. Miles was furiously attacking a plate with a dishcloth when he turned to Juliet.

"Hey, are you going to take Harry up on his offer?" he asked.

Juliet felt the blood drain from her face and she was painfully aware of Sawyer's eyes on her back. She coughed. "I… don't know what you mean."

Miles dried another plate. "You know. You…Harry – the guy from the Motor Pool."

"Yes thank you Miles I know who he is," Juliet said.

"Well he asked you out right, like what –" he looked to Jin for confirmation, " – two week's ago?"

Jin nodded.

Juliet closed her eyes and wished for ruby slippers.

"Yeah, yeah. And the other day he said, what with the rain and all, if you wanted to stop by and if you were looking for some company…" Miles trailed off as he realized that Sawyer's face was thunder. "Um. And I'm just gonna go take my foot and my mouth and head home where I can take care of it… appropriately."

Jin hovered uncertainly for a few seconds and then followed Miles out. Juliet stood on one side of the kitchen, Sawyer on the other. Neither of them spoke. The front door closed and the silence engulfed them.

It was Sawyer who broke the tension. "So… when were you plannin' on tellin' me about you and Harry the Hippy?"

"It wasn't a big…" Juliet breathed.

"Then why the secret?"

"It's not a secret, I just –"

"Generally secrets happen when you _choose_ to withhold information from somebody. Y'know, kinda like when you were an _Other_."

"Don't."

Sawyer took a breath. He knew if he didn't, then he was going to start a World War in his kitchen and he wasn't sure whether he'd be on the winning team.

Juliet walked towards him and stopped at his side. She flicked her eyes up to meet his. "I turned him down," she said softly.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Because," she replied, her eyes challenging his, "apparently we now have a policy where we don't have to tell each other everything."

***


	9. Hooked On A Feeling

**A/N: So... many of you loved Milus Interruptus. To those of you I killed with the tension, I'm sorry but I *am* evil (so let that be your warning), and you can blame the Miles fans for me keeping him around in later chapters. So I left you all with Juliet totally PWNing Sawyer (are you guys _sure_ you don't hate Miles?) - so we should really go see if they're okay...**

**Chapter 9**** – Hooked On A Feeling**

_Thursday__. _

_2__:04 am_

Juliet woke up wanting the bathroom again. She was too afraid to invite a repeat of the other night's adventure, so she rolled over and tried to will herself back to sleep. She was also reluctant to face James again. Neither of them had said a word since their argument in the kitchen – they hadn't even said goodnight to one another and it was the first time since she could remember that they hadn't done that.

There was a night, just a few weeks ago, that James had got stuck out at the Hydra over night and had to wait for the morning boat. He'd got Miles to bring her down to the comm. centre at eleven 'o clock so that he could say goodnight.

She didn't like this tension between them.

***

_2:__15 am_

_Dammit_. She really did need to pee. _Well I'll just have to hold it in. Come on you can do this, just curl into a ball and go to sleep._

***

_2:__16am_

_Crap. _She was going to have to get up. She rolled out of bed and tiptoed down the hallway, cautiously on the watch for any sign of movement. She made it to the bathroom without a hitch.

***

_2:__19 am_

Juliet came out the bathroom and noticed a light was still on in the living room. She went to investigate and found him fast asleep on the sofa, snoring lightly. Her heart melted. _I really _am_ in trouble, _she thought. She crept up to where he lay and pulled a blanket up over him. He shifted a little and she spotted the tiniest bit of meat sauce at the corner of his lip. She reached over and brushed it away, surprised even, by her own daring.

"What, ya didn't get enough at dinner?" he mumbled, his eyes still closed.

Juliet jumped.

He opened one eye and turned his head to look at her. Juliet tried to speak and found herself unable. There was no way to disguise her ridiculously affectionate action. This was _way_ worse than him patting her feet.

Sawyer was now wide awake and looking at her. Juliet closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"You should be. What if I had needed a midnight snack?" he teased.

Juliet tried desperately to escape his gaze. "Have a banana."

Sawyer smirked. "You're obsessed with bananas. You're not gonna start comparin' me to monkeys again are ya?"

Juliet laughed and put a hand on his arm. "I meant I'm sorry about earlier. I really _wasn't_ going to accept Harry's invitation. I just… didn't tell you because I thought –"

"What?"

"That you'd overreact," she confessed.

He smiled. "I'm sorry too. I was… bein' overprotective. I just… I guess I need a vacation."

"Why don't you take one?"

"The Island don't exactly have good Time Share," he replied.

She patted his arm. "Well if you need to talk… you know where to find me."

She gave him a small smile before standing and heading back toward her room.

"Goodnight," he said, just as she reached the hallway.

Her smile widened. "Goodnight James," she replied.

***


	10. Undercover Angel

**A/N: So there's like - foot rubbing... and meat sauce... how hot is this fic, no? Eh whatever, I've still got three chapters to torture you with. So it's Valentine's Day and if you think that means I'll be nice to you, you should check your memo's. What, you didn't get one? I'm sorry. The Royal Mail service can suck like that. I'll make you a mix tape, I promise. Also, would now be a bad time to tell you that the next chapter might not be up until Wednesday? If it is, I'm sorry about that too. I'll bake you a ham, I promise. **

**Chapter Ten**** – Undercover Angel**

_Thursda__y._

_2__:34 am_

She felt him more than she heard him - the smallest bit of pressure on the mattress. She opened her eyes to find him sitting at the bottom of her bed, creating a depression in her comforter. He was staring at the wall, his feet firmly planted on the floor and his hands folded in his lap. He looked awkward, as if he couldn't understand why he was here or what he had to do.

Juliet rolled out from under her covers and sat beside him. She followed his gaze, waiting for him to say something. A few minutes passed with them sitting in this way, shoulder to shoulder, silence hanging between them. She counted another minute before reaching out and placing her hand on top of his.

She knew she was breaking one of about a _billion _rules she had about getting close – or in this case _not_ getting close – to a man on or because of this island, but she figured she'd probably tossed _that_ book out the window when she'd started rubbing meat sauce off his face.

She took it as a good sign that he didn't protest – although she realized it was probably more dangerous for both of them. It was one thing for her to hold his hand when he was knocked out on tranquilizers (her fault) and for him to hold her hand when she'd fallen in a ditch and broken her ankle (his fault), but it was another thing entirely to reach out and touch each other when there was no excuse to give. Neither of them was very good at letting people in – but part of the reason their friendship worked was because, very often, neither of them had to say _anything_ in order to be understood. They read each so well that a lot of the time they could have entire conversations with just their eyes and an expression, and she knew that for him to express in words what she could see on his face would leave him vulnerable to her. Juliet wanted more than anything for him to trust her with that vulnerability. She needed him to know that she wouldn't use it against him, and that was when she reached out and squeezed his hand.

***

_2__:44 am_

Sawyer sighed. How she had so much patience with him he couldn't begin to fathom. She just sat there like some undercover angel, never expecting, just reassuring and constant. Almost ten months ago they'd made a promise to _always_ have each others backs, and he knew to be true to that, he had to let her know. He owed her that truth, and in realizing this he found it easier to say the words.

"This can't leave the room," he said. "Horace… and his team of merry scientists are messin' with things they shouldn't. An' I can't say anythin' 'cause I'm not exactly supposed to know more about this place than I do. There have been accidents… deaths… out by the Orchid. Metal's flying all over the place - some kind of… electromagnetism. They're tryin' to harvest the energy and use it to manipulate stuff _God-only-knows_ they should be leavin' alone. Horace doesn't want anyone to panic, he don't want anyone to know an' he's keepin' it within a small… _circle of trust_… he calls it. 'Need to know' only."

"So why tell me?" Juliet spoke, her voice calm and controlled.

Sawyer looked at her, his eyes seeking hers in the dark. "Because you need to know."

***

_2:__52 am_

They were still sitting there on the edge of her bed in the darkness. Juliet was still holding his hand, and Sawyer had wrapped his other hand on top of hers. Neither of them had said anything more. Eventually he nudged her gently.

"You okay?"

"The Orchid, or what lies beneath it, is what brought us here," she said slowly. "Daniel was right. What happened… happened. In order for us to be here, the Orchid has to be built."

"Even if it means more people dyin'? I mean we're meant to be livin' a quiet life here, y'know _Twister_, hippy home economics –"

"Playing house?" Juliet interrupted.

Sawyer gave her a cocky smile and shrugged. "You got someone else you wanna be livin' with?"

Juliet turned away. "How bad _is_ it - the Orchid?"

"They're takin' precautions. But I don't know how long they'll last, _if_ they'll last. They _think_ they can control it. I mean we know… we know one day everybody here is gonna die."

"The Others won't…" Juliet tried. "The Dharma Initiative is – was – still experimenting on the Island until the end of 1992. That's when –"

"They had 'em all killed," he finished for her.

Juliet nodded, "You said 'they'."

Sawyer frowned. "So?"

"I was expecting you to say… _y'all _or something."

"You weren't on the Island then."

Juliet raised her eyebrows.

"See I _do_ listen," he teased.

"Wonders never cease," she smiled. "I guess I just thought… maybe there's still a part of you that resents the _Other_ in me."

Sawyer leant over, his lips just inches away from her hair. "I'm not sure you ever were an _Other_," he whispered and kissed the side of her head. He felt the tension in her shoulders dissipate.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Blondie, you're all I got out here. An' I ain't exactly got the world's best track record either. I can't seem to hide a damn thing from you. An' you're the only woman I ever met who hasn't tried to – make me the way they think I should be."

"Well I could try, if you really want me to," she joked. "We could start with a haircut."

Sawyer grabbed at her hand as she tried to ruffle his hair. "Watch it, grease monkey."

Juliet grinned and allowed her head to fall onto his shoulder. "I don't have to try and change you, James," she said eventually, "you're doing fine all by yourself."

He smiled and put an arm around her. "Know what? I don't think I can take all the credit for that."

"Well _that's_ a first," she teased.

"Hey!"

"You know we've been here for almost ten months," she told him. "That, coupled with the days you spent on the Island after your plane went down, means you've been here over a year."

He squeezed her hand gently, slowly lacing his fingers through hers.

"Well look at that," he replied.

***


	11. Some Kind Of Wonderful

**A/N: So I now owe people hams, steaks, cookies and other assorted food stuffs that I can't be bothered to sit and make so I decided since you've already done the waiting until Wednesday part, I figured I'd de-promise my promise and follow the orders of those who've told me I'm killing them and can I quit torturing all of you please. And I thought "hmm... I'm not sure about giving up my Sayid-esque ways." This is the penultimate chapter to this fic so I guess we now have to decide: Do I ship Suliet? Yes/Yes?**

**Chapter Eleven – Some Kind Of Wonderful**

_Thursday._

_8:10pm_

Juliet, Sawyer, Miles, and Jin had commandeered the rec-center. They'd grabbed beers and snacks, braved the rain and were now teaming up to play pool. It didn't take long to discover that both Jin and Juliet were _terrible _players. Miles thought he'd already lost when he asked Jin to break and Jin turned around to ask "Break what?" But then he'd seen Juliet send her ball ricocheting around the room and felt a little better. Sawyer and Miles, on the other hand, were pretty evenly matched.

While the two were completing what Juliet could only describe as a "man off", she'd located a bottle of rum hidden in one of the cabinets and she and Jin were now toasting each other.

Sawyer missed his shot which made it Jin's turn. He took aim and Miles rolled his eyes. He was dying to tell the man that his stick was too high – not that the Korean would listen. Jin missed his shot – which actually consisted of the cue ball spinning around in its own circle – and laughed.

"_Dude_ this is not a game!" Miles cried.

Juliet passed him a glass. "Have a drink Miles."

She grabbed her own stick, sat on the side of the pool table and set up her shot. Sawyer watched in amusement as she stuck her tongue out in concentration. Juliet hit the cue ball and sank a red solid… which would have been great if their balls weren't stripes. She looked 'round sheepishly.

"That wasn't right was it?"

Sawyer shook his head at her.

"But at least I got one?"

Sawyer patted her on the shoulder. "Go drink some more. Who knows, it might make you a better player."

Juliet punched him playfully and hopped down off the table.

"You know they're cancelling us out?" Miles told him, taking his shot.

Sawyer smiled in acknowledgement.

"Although," Miles continued, "at least your partner's pretty to look at it."

Sawyer paused while aligning his shot, and glanced up at his deputy.

"You know… if you were looking," Miles concluded.

Sawyer lowered his eyes and bent over his cue stick once more. He caught sight of Juliet, who was smiling and talking softly to Jin. They'd switched on the turntable and were currently flicking through record albums.

Miles cleared his throat, "Uh… La Fleur?"

Sawyer tore his eyes away from Juliet. "What?"

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering if you were going to take your shot in _this_ timeline or sometime during the _next_?"

Sawyer glared at Miles, took his shot and sunk it. He set up his next shot, but was too distracted by Miles' words and missed.

"She looks at you too you know," Miles told him, "when you're not looking."

"Just play the damn game, Enos," Sawyer growled.

Miles did as he was told, completely missing the small smile that had formed at the corners of his boss' mouth.

***

_10:02 pm_

Miles lost spectacularly to a final showdown with Sawyer and afterward, joined Juliet and Jin who were sitting on the floor singing along to _Grand Funk_. Miles raised his eyebrows at the shrinking level of rum. Juliet shrugged and handed him the bottle.

"Catch up," she said, standing up and heading toward the pool table.

Miles cocked his head as if thinking it through and then raised the bottle to his lips.

***

_10:05 pm_

"Hey," she said.

"Hey, yourself," Sawyer replied, setting up for another round. "You still conscious?"

Juliet smiled. "Jin's responsible for most of it. I think he just really needs to forget for a while."

Sawyer nodded and removed the rack. "Yeah, I get that."

Juliet nodded. "You gonna play by yourself?"

Sawyer looked at her with curiosity. "What, _you_ wanna play me?"

Juliet grinned.

"Well alright then," he said, handing her a cue stick. "Do you wanna break?"

"I think it's best for humanity if I don't," she replied.

"I actually agree with that."

Juliet had a very different idea of how to play the game. She spent more time touching the pool balls and throwing them down the table than she did actually hitting them. Sawyer was amused and allowed her to continue cheating.

Sometime later, Sawyer missed his shot and Juliet took hers. She missed it completely and then turned to face him, her hands on her hips.

"Can I do that again?"

Sawyer sauntered up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That ain't the rule sweetheart."

She turned her head toward his hand. "Yes well right now the rules are…a little…" she flicked her eyes towards his, "… confusing."

Sawyer felt weak. He knew that if Miles and Jin weren't serenading them from afar that he'd be completely at the mercy of this woman who was refusing to leave his head alone. "Well then," he finally coughed, "I'll show ya. C'mere."

He turned her around, lined up her shot and handed her the cue. He lowered her to his level, reached over her back – his right leg slipping in between both of hers – and positioned his hand just behind her own. Sawyer's head hovered just above one of her shoulders, his left hand holding hers as the cue stick moved backwards and forwards between their fingers.

Juliet could barely breathe. She felt herself buckle as the white ball set sail, but she didn't wait to see it meet and sink its target. She unwrapped herself from Sawyer and tore towards the door out into the rain, her heartbeat going a million miles a minute.

***

_10:30pm_

Sawyer went running after her - he was soaked within seconds, but he didn't care. His feet were on autopilot and he knew he couldn't stop until he reached her. Going after Juliet was instinctual – he couldn't remember the last time he followed a woman where he wasn't sure if there was anything to gain. He knew if he left her alone she'd find a way to mask all of this, to unravel this crazy electricity between them and he found himself thinking that the only thing he wanted to unravel was _her_.

He spotted her just ahead of him. Visibility wasn't all that great, but he could make out the baby-blue of her shirt. He closed the gap between them, grabbed onto her arms and spun her around. He didn't let her speak. He didn't let her attempt to fight him off like he knew she would if he gave her the time. He grabbed her face in his hands and crashed his lips against hers.

Their tongues collided in furious exploration, all rum and beer and heat. She collapsed into his body, feeling the taut muscles in his chest pushing against her as her hands ran up his back. She didn't dare breathe. She didn't dare stop. If she died right now it would be of sweet ecstasy and _God_ what a damn good way to go. She ran her hands through his hair, her arms pulling him closer and his hips colliding with her own. The need for air forced his lips from hers, but the breath he took didn't even allow Juliet to remember her own name before his hands were up her shirt and he was kissing the nape of her neck. His tongue ran over her pulse as he worked his way back up over her chin and into her mouth once more. Juliet gasped as he kissed her again, soft and hungry all at the same time. She barely registered him continuing to trace a line down the other side of her neck heading south towards her breasts, when she found her own mouth buried in his shoulder. She tasted rain and sweat, and James – and _oh sweet Lord_ did it taste right. How he'd gotten to the hollow in her throat and where he'd been before then, she had no idea. She grasped the sides of his face and pulled him up to meet her lips. His mouth accepted the invitation and he gladly sought her warmth as the rain continued to fall around them. When the urgency slowed he continued to kiss her neck, her cheek, her temple, and her lips once more – reassuring her. She clutched at him as he did so, feeling for the entire world, like she'd just come undone.

***


	12. These Arms Of Mine

**A/N: This is the chapter that almost never was. My wonderful beta, Ann (who I thank from the bottom of my heart for all her time and patience) told me that it would be far too cruel to leave things at the end of chapter 11, and thus, this chapter was born. This is the first time I've cheated on a chapter title, but the song was so perfect and too appropriate that I couldn't resist. The song is from the '60s, BUT it was playing in the car the night that Rose broke down and met Bernard, and it was playing in the Hatch when Desmond was living down there - which means that the record _was_ on the Island. So it's all either awesome, coincidence, fate, or destiny. Pick one, 'cause the song is epic.**

**It is unbelievably difficult to let a story go. But as a writer you get to a point where you know that it's finished and anything more would destroy its integrity. You can, of course, go on and try to work out what happens next, but that then becomes _another_ story. So this is where _this_ story ends, although (of course) it's not the end to the story of James and Juliet. I want to thank each and every person who has commented, reviewed, messaged me, threatened to kill me, loved me, hated on me and ultimately sat down and READ this story - because you're all awesome.**

**Chapter 12**** – These Arms of Mine**

_Thursday_

_10:45pm_

She wasn't sure how, exactly, they'd made it back to the house. All she knew was that one minute she'd been standing out in the pouring rain and the next she was pressed up against the inside of her own front door somehow still wrapped in his arms. Her knees were trembling and threatening to give way and she knew that the only reason she was still standing was because of _that_ door and the man currently pushing her up against it.

Juliet's brain was still idly trying to map her route home when Sawyer's lips found and explored the nape of her neck and sent any and all remaining reason out the window. She arched as his lips moved to the rhythm of her pulse. His hands were tracing the skin around her hips, the cool damp from the rain and the warmth in his palms creating goose-bumps on her flesh. She brought her hands down to meet his and, placing the barest amount of pressure on his hands she tugged upwards. Sawyer took the hint and in one swift and skilful motion, pulled her shirt up and over her head. Juliet wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close again. He didn't protest and his tongue didn't hesitate when her mouth found his again, hungry and urgent. She grabbed at his shirt, running her hands up his back as she did so, but the intensity of his kiss was leaving her powerless and numb. She couldn't do more than clutch the soaking material in between her fingers.

Sawyer broke away from her lips, reached over his shoulders and yanked the shirt off his back – tossing it aside. He worked his mouth across the front of her chest, along the line of her shoulder and up her neck. He heard her whimper as he began systematically destroying every shred of reserve she held. She buried her face in his neck as her legs entwined with his, the walls of her resolve crumbling down around her. Sawyer kissed her neck, just below her ear, and nearly lost control when he heard her whisper "James". It was if she – and she alone – had been born to say that name.

He kissed her again, their lips engaging in some kind of war for the upper hand, neither of them winning, both of them succumbing. He felt her heart beating in time with his own, a relentless rhythm of desperation and passion. He knew he needed to slow down, but he was just as helpless in her arms as she was in his. The single part of his brain that was still aware there was a world outside of Juliet, was wondering why he suddenly had an Otis Redding song stuck in his head.

As if sensing his thought, Juliet broke for air and put her head on his shoulder. Her breathing was rapid and her pulse, wild as she clung to him. She was shaking. Sawyer was still trailing a line of kisses across her cheek before he planted one more on the side of her temple and then rested his head against hers. He could feel her lips trembling softly against the skin of his shoulder. Taking care not to startle her, he wrapped one arm around the small of her back and cradled her head with his free hand. It took her a while, but eventually she relaxed against him, turning her face toward his neck and placing the lightest of kisses at its base. Sawyer closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. He was relieved that she was still standing enveloped in his arms.

Moments later he felt her stir beneath him. "Can you… can you hear Otis Redding?" she whispered against his neck.

Sawyer frowned. "You been in my head again?"

Juliet straightened up to look at him, her forehead creased in confusion. They stared at each other until they both came to realize that their mutual bewilderment was not due to a mysterious serenading choir, but rather the musical ramblings of two _very_ drunk men.

"_These arrrmmms of miiine, they're burrrrning! Burrrning from wanting yooou, these arms of miiiine! They are waaanting, wanting toooo hold yooou!"_

Juliet's eyes widened.

"Guess we should have left them with another bottle of rum," Sawyer told her.

They could hear the front porch creak as Miles and Jin stomped across it, singing for lovers everywhere. Swiftly and without fuss, Juliet unravelled herself from Sawyer's arms, scooped up both of their discarded shirts and ducked down the hallway and into her bedroom. Sawyer rolled his eyes skyward and opened the front door.

"Boss!" Miles hollered.

"You leave us!" Jin cried.

"Yeah well I left the iron on," Sawyer grumbled.

"Too bad," Miles shouted, "we're having a good time! Good, _good_ time. Right, Jin?"

"Good time!" Jin yelled in Sawyer's ear.

"Glad to hear it," Sawyer replied.

"You should have stayed, Boss! Much better than doin' laundry!" Miles lectured.

Sawyer glared at him and wondered if Miles would remember being punched in the face when he woke up tomorrow morning. In the end, he settled for placing one arm under Jin – who was nearly bent double against Miles – and guiding them back to their own quarters.

"Come on… let's get you two to bed," he told them.

Sawyer half-walked, half-dragged them both to their house. Miles kept stopping to talk to birds that had died in the line of duty, while Jin sang at the top of his voice.

"Come on! Come on babyyy nowww. Just beee my little womannn. Just be my loverrrrr!"

Sawyer clenched his fists. "Keep it down!" he hissed.

By the time they made it to the front door Sawyer was ready to just throw them inside and be done with it. He also wished that Jin would stop shouting the word "burning". All three of them fell through the door. Jin hit the floor and didn't move whilst Miles at least managed to grab onto a chair.

"Boss, I think… I may be… a little drunk," Miles stage-whispered.

"No shit, Sherlock," Sawyer replied. "Go get yourself into bed."

"That's an excellent idea," Miles giggled, stupidly.

Sawyer was now frustrated beyond repair, he bent down, grabbed Jin by the scruff of his shirt and hauled him off the floor. The Korean was already snoring and Sawyer thought nothing of dumping him on his bed and letting the man sleep it off. He was about to leave when a pang of guilt rushed through him – something he was sure he could've ignored ten months ago, but wouldn't leave him now.

Juliet had said that Jin needed to forget, and there was nothing quite like drowning your sorrows in a bottle of booze. He doubted Jin would ever get over being separated from his wife. Not only were they separated by the real world and the fact that Sun thought he was dead, but now they were also separated by time. Sawyer hung his head, turned around and sighed. Careful not to wake him – not that he thought there was much chance of that – he pulled off Jin's shoes and covered him with a blanket.

"Goodnight, Mister Kwon. Sleep well… 'cause when you wake up I'll be stickin' you _both_ out in the pourin' rain. I can do that y'see? 'cause you're right, I _am_ the boss."

***

_11__:40pm_

He hovered for a few minutes on his own front porch, debating with himself. Eventually he settled on the only two real probabilities - either he would walk inside and they would pick up right where they left off, or he would walk inside and they would simply ignore everything that had happened and erase it from their day completely. Except - Sawyer didn't want to erase it and that really only left him with _one_ option. Taking a deep breath, he let himself inside the house and marched straight down to the last place he'd seen her go – her bedroom.

The door was open but the light was out and even in the darkness he could see she wasn't there. He checked the bathroom and – much to his daring – _his_ own bedroom. She wasn't there either. He frowned, trying not to imagine that she'd panicked and run off somewhere. Sawyer shook his head. _No_, he knew she wouldn't have done that.

Returning to the living room, he was about to get himself a glass of water when a mane of blonde hair caught his eye. He smiled, silently relieved that she was still here. In his absence, she'd changed into her sweats and was now stretched out on the sofa, fast asleep. There was just enough room for him to sit at the end, and he watched her for a minute before covering her with the same blanket she'd used to cover him the night before. He grabbed his book and hoped it had a plot more complex than Radzinsky's scientific mumbo-jumbo, because he _sure as hell_ needed a distraction. Fifteen pages in, he felt her stir beside him, her feet once more poking him in the thigh. Sawyer smiled and placed a hand on one of them, rubbing it gently.

"Hey," she murmured sleepily.

"Hi," he said, cocking his head at her.

"Good book?" she asked.

"Not bad," he said.

"Want me to tell you how it ends?"

"You do that and I will purposefully grass-stain every single one of my uniforms each time it's _your_ laundry day."

"Well you do that and I'll have no choice, but to forget to make you dinner when it's my turn to cook."

They stared at each other, eyes silently daring the other to back down. It didn't help that the corners of her mouth were twitching – a mouth which he now happened to find completely irresistible and therefore, could not stop watching.

Juliet nodded toward his book. "It's late. Do you have to work tomorrow?"

Sawyer closed his eyes and nodded. "Forecast says it's gonna ease somewhat, I gotta get out and make sure everything's secure."

Juliet gave him a small smile. "Do you want to lie with me a little?"

He looked at her for a minute. She'd pulled back the blanket as if she already knew the answer to her own question. Sawyer edged in beside her and she covered them both. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, kissing the back of her hair.

"Yeah," he said, "I wanna lie with you a whole lot."

***

END


End file.
